Yesterday, as NY1 happily pointed out when I tuned in, it was only the fourth time in the past century where Christmas and the first day of Chanukah fell on the same day. That hadn't occurred to me, though I hope it meant that more people enjoyed latkes yesterday, not less; and I know today kicks off a week of Kwanzaa celebrations as well. But I had actually turned the TV on to see what was being said about another important moment: the one-year anniversary of the tsunami in Asia.

Despite the confluence of Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa coverage, plus everything that's going on in the world (big year, still with one up-for-grabs week to go), there has been much remembrance this weekend for the nightmare of destruction in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other stricken areas as well as the shock and horror we felt over here. It wasn't forgotten, and hasn't been (God bless the folks on Technorati; "tsunami" is #8 on the search list, even if this article still mysteriously failed to get any traction).

Anyhow, sorry to welcome you back after the holiday with a sort of somber post, but it's a sort of somber day, holidays notwithstanding. Ever more reason to enjoy our latkes while we can, right? Right.

Today in history - Dec. 26th [AP via NYT]

Related:
The Day The Sea Came [NYT]